A davit is generally used to raise and lower a load at a projected distance away from a mounting location. One common use of davits is raising a load from water, swinging the load over a boat's hull, and then lowering the load to the deck. Performing these steps in reverse order to place an object in the water is also common. Davits are generally permanently mounted to a mounting surface and are often heavy and difficult to transport. However, in certain instances a user may transport the davit from one mounting location to another to utilize the function of the davit in multiple locations, e.g., from a boat to a truck. Therefore, a need exists for improved portability of davits to allow for transportation between areas and installation in multiple mounting locations. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to fulfilling these and other needs.